Wisconsin exempt from No Child Left Behind Act

It's a goal some educators say is impossible. The No Child Left Behind Act requires all students to pass math and reading tests by 2014.

"What we're looking for is for students to be college and career ready. That's our benchmark," State Superintendent Tony Evers said.

That's why the state has created its own plan. The U.S. Department of Education has granted a waiver, exempting the state from following the requirements in the No Child Left Behind Act.

"We can target resources and identify schools performance in a more logical way," Evers said of the new plan.

The new evaluation process will show a school's improvement using graduation levels and attendance, not just test scores.

"We can identify schools that are struggling and having support for those schools and identify high performing schools and working with them to share their best practices across the state," Evers explained.

But, the road to get the waiver wasn't easy. The state submitted a proposal back in February. But, the Department of Education said it lacked details.

"We needed to work with the department to understand what exactly they wanted and once that was done it was clear sailing," Evers said.

Now, the plan has been accepted, making Wisconsin the 26th state to be exempt from the law.

In a statement, Governor Walker applauded the department's decision, saying, "this waiver puts more power in the hands of Wisconsin's parents, educators, and elected officials to determine what is best for students in each community."

"It's going to help us make reforms more valuable and easier to implement," Evers added.

The waivers are only temporary until congress can re-write the law. But, there is no time frame for when that might happen.

The evaluation changes will be implamented for the upcoming school year.